Backtesting

Backtesting in Metatrader

Once you have run a backtest of your Expert Advisor(EA) using Metatrader, it is important to accurately interpret and analyze the results of your backtest. From the Strategy Tester screen, click on the “Results” tab. This tab lays out each trader that was executed or modified during the backtesting time frame. This is the best way to make sure that your EA is putting in the proper trades.

Next to the “Results” tab, we see the “Graph” tab, which shows the performance of the EA in graphical form. Many traders primarily view the strength of their EA’s performance through the “Graph” tab, but this can be very misleading. In order to really understand the performance of the EA during the backtest, you need to look at the data presented in the “Report” tab.

The most important number on the “Report” tab is Modelling Quality, this number tells you how accurate your model was. If you have a Modelling Quality of less than ninety, then the results of the backtest should be ignored. Closely related to the Modelling Quality score are Mismatched Bars. Ideally you want this number to be zero, the larger the number of Mismatched Bars the less the Modelling Quality. Manipulating the historical data to improve the Modelling Quality ranking will be discussed in a future video, and is beyond the scope of this discussion.

The rest of the report tab gives you a general idea of how well the strategy performed. Information such as the total number of trades, profitability factor, maximal drawdown, and information about the number and ratio of winning and losing trades. The information presented on this screen gives traders a template through which to begin analysis of their EA.

The final tab is the “Journal” tab, which lists everything that happened during the backtest. Ideally, the “Journal” page should match the “Results” tab perfectly. If there are any errors executing trades, they will be listed in the “Journal” tab. This tab is a great place to look if something seems off about the results of a backtest, poor backtesting performance can frequently be explained by errors when entering or modifying trades.

If you want to save the results of the backtest to view later, go back to the “Report” tab. Right click anywhere on the screen and click Save as Report. Once you have saved the report a window will launch showing the report you have saved. This will bring up all of the information about the backtest in single page format in your default browser.